Credit cards have long provided card holders with a convenient payment option at a majority of merchants. Credit cards include unique information that links the card to a card holder's account with a financial institution (e.g., a bank or a non-bank card issuer). For example, in the case of a traditional credit card, the account may comprise an amount of credit available to the card holder, or in the case of a debit card, the account may comprise a checking or savings account that belongs to the card holder. Credit cards typically include the card holder's name, the account number, an expiration date, and a card security code (CSC) (alternatively referred to as a card verification value (CVV) or card verification code (CVC)) printed or embossed on the physical card.
Credit cards may also include a magnetic stripe or an integrated circuit (IC) chip that is attached to the physical card and encoded with the unique information. In some examples, magnetic stripe or IC chip cards may be encoded for use as personal identification cards, secure access badges, insurance cards, gift cards, or the like. In the case of a chip-enabled card, the IC chip embedded on the card may be configured to store additional information and/or perform processing tasks that exceed the capabilities of a magnetic stripe. For example, a single chip-enabled card may be programmed with multiple financial account credentials, insurance information, and personal identification information. In other examples, chip-enabled cards may be configured to implement cryptographic algorithms to enhance security for card transactions.
In addition to, or instead of, physical cards, card holders may use virtual wallet applications executed on computing devices to perform online transactions. Similar to the physical cards discussed above, the virtual wallet may include digitized versions of credit cards, debit cards, personal identification cards, secure access badge, insurance cards, gift, cards, or the like. A computing device configured to execute a virtual wallet application may be any of a wide range of devices, including laptop or desktop computers, tablet computers, so-called “smart” phones, “smart” pads, “smart” watches, or other personal digital appliances equipped for wired or wireless communication.